An Afternoon with the Swans - con't

Greetings once again from Swan Central!

I'm still on a natural high from yesterday's fabulous photo shoot near Tagish Lake, Yukon.  As I sort and process the well over 200+ images I cannot help but think how fortunate I was to have found such a peaceful place to observe and photograph these graceful creatures in relative close proximity. 

As mentioned in yesterday's post I returned to the small river that joins Marsh Lake with Tagish Lake in hopes of photographing the swans in better lighting conditions than those of Saturday afternoon.  As I drove towards my destination the weather had begun to deteriorate with sudden snow squalls creating temporary whiteout conditions on the highway.  The dark ominous clouds appearing over the mountain tops didn't help matters either.  So often that morning I had wanted to return to the warmth of my hotel room in Whitehorse - thankfully I ignored those thoughts. 

By the time I arrived at the Tagish Lake Campground conditions had improved remarkably with blue skies, sun and scattered clouds.  I should not have been surprised by this as the weather here always turns on a dime.   

Within minutes of parking the car on the side of the highway I was deep into the bush with my camera gear and tripod in hand trying to slog my way to the river.  As the snow was still knee-deep in place I decided to follow an old moose trail that snaked through the maze of spruce and pine trees.  It appears as if the moose had similar thoughts as its tracks eventually lead me to the edge of the steep river slope from where I could scour the icy shoreline for my swans.  It wasn't long before the Trumpeter Swans had announced my presence to the rest of the world.  I waited for a few minutes before I continued quietly along the shoreline until I came to a small clearing that afforded an undisturbed view of a pair of swans resting, preening and 'talking' to each other while they were standing on a thick slab of river ice.  The sun was directly in front of the pair so this created some neat lighting conditions.  I spent close to an hour with the pair observing their behaviour and trying to capture those moments with my camera.  Throughout the hour both individuals kept a very close eye on my every move.  Eventually the pair had other plans and swam away to join their buddies.

I continued to explore the shoreline for a few more hours and did manage more swan sightings.  I estimate there must have been at least 100 swans along this tiny river system.  Toward the end of my day three swans flew quietly by me as if to signal I had overstayed my welcome.

What a treat it was to watch and photograph these critters in their undisturbed environment - an environment surrounded in complete silence and snow-capped mountains.  The silence was interrupted on occasion by the French Horn-like calls of the swans as they chatted with each other and by the steady breeze blowing over the tree tops.  The smells of the spruce and pine needles brought me back to my days canoeing through Algonquin Park in Central Ontario.  Ahh, the lure of the wildnerness!!  I'm so thrilled that spring has returned.  

I could have easily spent a few more hours photographing the swans had I not needed to return to Pelly Crossing (a 5hr drive away).

With lighting conditions being so good I decided to set my camera between ISO 250 and 320.  I elected to use the Nikon D300 camera for its digital zoom factor as it would allow me to take closer images than with a full frame camera.  I used my 300mm f/2.8 glass with 1.7x teleconverter.  Both the camera and lens were mounted on a tripod.  HINT - make sure you set your tripod correctly when shooting on a steep slope (you don't want to sacrifice your top-heavy camera to river below).  A cable release was attached to the camera to minimize camera shake when snapping images.  Oh yes, the camera was also set to Continuous High and Aperture Priority.

I cannot wait until next weekend!

Good night, 

Cheers

Claus